Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, UK

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland - Excursion: Holyrood Palace - Rating: 5/5 Stars

Hello my dear subjects, this 'excursion' post comes to you today all the way from Her Royal Highness Holyrood Palace, Scottish home, open only to the public when the Queen is not in town!

Since I can be standing in the middle of the court yard above, unfortunately the Queen was not in town on the day I visited (so I didn't meet any royals), but that does mean I got to explore the house, gardens and backyard abbey tourist style!

Upon arriving at the front of the home, there is of course a gift shop (with more than moderately priced goods, but hey the royal family has to make money somehow), and just through the gift shop you will find a ticket counter with a list of prices. Lucky for me, at the time of my visit to the palace I was/am a student at the University of Edinburgh, which allowed me to gain access to the student discount price of only 16 pounds including one ticket to the palace (home, gardens and abbey), one ticket to the Queen's gallery AND starting on the day I bought the tickets, a years worth of entries to the palace and galley as many times as I would like, all on the same ticket! I may not be a royal (yet) but after buying my ticket for such a good price/deal, I felt like I was a Queen.

After buying my tickets, I walked out of the gift shop and went straight up to the house gates. I was handed a free auto guide to use in the palace (since there are only very limited guided tours), posed for a photo outside the house (see above), and entered the beginning part of the royal tour.

Unfortunately, while I wish I could share photos with you from inside the palace, after trying (successfully trying but getting yelled at) by one of the Scottish guards, there are no photos allowed inside the royal household, only outside in the abbey and in the garden.

However, once inside, after completing a walk thought the palace seeing everything from the dining room to the royal throne room, you can take a walk outside to visit the abbey, a stunning ruin right in the palace's backyard that makes for a wonderful photo opportunity as well read some signs that go more in depth about the history of it original structure. Following the palace and abbey are the royal household gardens, where every July 1st, the Queen of England hosts her anual tea party for a mere 8,000 people (all Royals, Lord and Ladies as well as special guests), and while I am still waiting for my invitation, us commoners can browse the gardens at our leisure and enjoy all its magical wonders. Unfortunately since my first visit to the palace was on January 26, 2018, in the winter months, the garden is not open (because there is nothing to see), so I will just have to come back in the springtime (which I intend too) so I can experience everything!

Aside from the palace, abbey and gardens of course there is a gift shop, the royal gallery (travel) exhibition that changes up to six times a year and a royal cafe where you can get some coffee, biscuits or a light lunch to complete your visit! Going one step further, if you are like me and love shows such a Downton Abbey, you can even book yourself a reservation for High Tea at the royal cafe for the afternoon complete with a fancy array of biscuits and finger sandwiches, fit for a visiting Queen!

I know for me personally I will be going back to Holyrood Palace periodically while I am here in Edinburgh, for I just love the scenery, royal history and ambiance that the whole experience created, spiking my curiosity to go back and visit the gardens in the spring too and try to get my self invited to the royal tea party (hey a girl can dream)!

So if you are ever in Edinburgh for the day, week, month or year, a local, a tourist, or a super royal family fan then I highly recommend, 5/5 stars, going to visit Holyrood Palace, experience as much or as little as you would like that the place has to offer, take lots of photos (not inside of course), go home and brag to your friends that you got to spend the day in a royal household!

Fun Fact: Once you have completed all there is to see at Holyrood Palace (as little or as much as you like), conveniently right across the street from the palace is Scotland's famous Parliament Building, where they also offer tours, a gift shop as well as a side street with other little museums here and there, so whether you go alone, with a friend or your family, visiting Holyrood Palace is not only a great destination but one with other great places to visit surrounding it!

Thank you my fellow adventurer for taking the time to read my review, I hope I at least peaked your interest in visiting Holyrood Palace and I hope to see you there!

Until Next Time...

Cheers,

Meghan Chayka

Questions: Please contact via. my Contact Me page

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Excursion: Holyrood Palace

Rating: 5/5 Stars